Point-Of-Sale (POS) devices often include a variety of integrated devices, such as scanners, scales, integrated scanners with scales, card readers with on-screen signature capabilities, and the like.
Some scanners come equipped with both a laser and a camera. This permits a cashier or customer to scan a barcode from two different directions. Generally, the laser operates to detect a bar code that is moved across its line of sight, which is flush with the checkout counter. The camera operates to detect a bar code that is facing the camera and away from the laser. These composite scanners have a variety of buttons and options that the cashier or a service engineer can access for purposes of configuring the scanners and/or adjusting settings on the scanners. This is a cumbersome process and requires the cashier to know what buttons to press on the scanner and in what order or sequence to achieve a desired setting.
Moreover, these types of scanners are often programmed by scanning a series of barcodes across the scanner while the scanner is placed in programming mode. This is actually similar to how computers were programmed many years ago with punch cards. It is an outdated process, which is tedious and fraught with potential errors.
Therefore, improved techniques to communicate with the software/firmware of the scanner are needed to improve usability, reduce costs associated with manufacturing a scanner with multiple buttons, and improve the efficiency and accuracy associated with programming the scanner.